This afternoon we’re all getting together at Cllrs Vic and Mary’s home to celebrate our local election success with friends and supporters to thank them. It will be great to get together and chat rather than the snatched conversations we’ve had over envelope stuffing and leafleting over the last few weeks!

The highlights of this week were ‘Mayor Making’, folowed by afternoon tea and our first full Council meeting of the year followed by our briefing with council officers who want to chop the cash-payment facilities at our local library that we disagree with. We then had a two hour meeting to explore the outcomes of the Urbed study. This is a community consultation mapping process to explore what businesses, land owners and residents vision for the future of our small town that we lovingly call ‘Prestwich Village’. Its been a great process to explore what everybody would like but whether it actually influences the main ‘players’ in the area, of whom I suspect, think that tall over development making every shopping and community area similar with another at the cheapest possible price …..with little or not enough comittment to help create a more environmentally sustainable community, vital for our future. The consultation report was then shared with residents and community partners at our LAP the following evening. Initial reaction also raised concerns of too many, too tal buildings. However, there is agreement that our warn-out shopping centre needs re-developing.

Next week – marking coursework for the BTEC Care course I work on – and supporting students to find inner enthusiasm and energy to complete outstanding work. There is a sub-group SEN meeting at the school where I am a governor a Friends of the Earth meeting in Bury and time to be able to pop around to see residents who need support to get things sorted.